A Traditional Sindhi Lunch

I can go on and on about the variety of food that we love to indulge in , but it will be meaningless, since I believe every culture and religion have Gems of Recipes and boasting that only Sindhis have some great recipes that nothing in world could beat, might sound too immodest.

But trust me when I say that Sindhi Cuisine have one such recipe which is hard to beat in simplicity, nutrition, easy availability of ingredients and awesome taste .

Utter Spinach and you might need to fabricate stories of Popeyeto make kids open their mouths to actually make way for that green stuff, forced down through their throats , hanging on the hope that their biceps(or triceps) will swell up like Popeye , making them strong.

So bless our ancestors, who thought of this Wonderful potpourri of Greens, lentils, vegetables, spices and flavors all in one pack called Saibhaji, more boastfully called as SINDHI SAIBHAJI

Tomatoes 2 (If less of khatta paalak is used or else skip tomatoes to get that perfect green colour)

Brinjal (Egg Plant) 1 Small

1 okra(bhindi), 1 small potato(either or both)

Arbi (kachaloo) ½(optional)

Onions 2

Channa Dal (Bengal Gram Dal) ½ cup cup (Soaked)

Green Chillies 2-3

Ginger a bit

Coriander powder 1 heaped tsp

Turmeric Powder ¼ tsp

Salt to taste

Oil 1-2 tbsp

Instructions

Wash spinach leaves along with khatta , methi (you can use 1 tsp of kasuri methi in case fresh leaves are unavailable) and Suaa (dill leaves) and chop them well

Peel and chop Arbi, onions and potatoes. Chop brinjal and Okra too. Do not forget to keep these veggies submerged in a bowl of water as soon as you chop these. In case you do not have all these veggies, just brinjal and onion will do, or just okra and potato with onion will help to make the Saibhaji mushy.This mix of vegetables is called as VAKHAR in Sindhi

Add chopped spinach leaves along with khatta, methi and sua , tomatoes, green chillies, ginger, all dry masalas, salt, chana dal and mix well(Note: Many prefer to just throw in everything in pressure cooker and not mix, going by the belief that mixing the spinach will result in taking long to cook. I somehow can't resist mixing the stuff before closing the lid of cooker. So you can choose your way)

Add little water and close the lid.Wait for atleast 7-8 whistles open the lid , mash it well with whisker , and adjust its consistency to a semi dry one

Many also prefer a Garlic Tadka (Tempering). But in our family , Saibhaji is made this way

It could be served with almost everything , ranging from plain steamed rice, to bhuge chawal, veg biryani , Koki or Doda.

But saibhaji is most relished with Bhughe Chaawal (Bhugha Chaanwaran). So it becomes mandatory to share its recipe too here 🙂

Dalchini 1 inch stick (Note instead of Khada masala, Garam masala powder can also be used for non spicy taste, so in that case use ½ tsp of garam masala powder )

Salt as per taste

Oil 1 tbsp

Instructions

Wash and soak rice for half hour if using non basmati rice, or if Basmati, then just for 10 minutes

In a handi, put one tbsp of oil, add one by one, all the whole spices and wait for few seconds. Add sliced onion and mix well. Cook on medium flame, till onion turns nice brown in colour.This slowly caramelized onion imparts a unique flavor to the rice. Do not let the onion get charred.

Add red chilli powder, (and garam masala powder in case khada masala is not used) and rice . Add water, double the quantity of rice. You can add some shelled peas and chunks of potatoes and/or Tinda (Apple gourds ). In that case, first add vegetables and let it boil in water for few minutes before adding rice

Add salt and let the mixture boil, till very less water remains.

Simmer and cover it with a lid till rice is cooked

Serve piping hot with Sindhi Saibhaji and enjoy the Made -in-Heaven combination of food

Notes

I sometimes make this rice in pressure cooker, following the same procedure, just that a bit less of water is used and 2 whistles of pressure cooker are enough to cook rice to perfection.

I completely agree with you about Sindhi food. I am ethnically from Mangalore but spent my childhood in Bombay surrounded by Sindhi neighbours and they made sure they pampered us with lots of delicious fried food sent to our home.I can never forget the delicious tomato bajjiyas!

My mom learnt to make sai bhaji and now as an adult I try and make it.Unfortunately I am always in places where I can never find Khatta bhaji!

Hey alka,
i was searching for a perfect sai bhaji recipe & need i say one i came here i didnt need to look anywgere else… i made it today & it turned out delicious 🙂 i simply loved it… right now its resting along with the rice in my tummy & it feels soo great 🙂 thanks for the recipe… will let u know when i post the pics of the same on my blog… tc

Thanks for an authentic Sindhi Saibhaji recipe. Will definitely try it out soon. Just wanted to say thanks for such a wonderful collection of delicious Sindhi recipes. They have definitely made a huge difference for me living in US and missing mom’s cooking 🙂

Alka…thats a lovely spread.This reminds me of one of the potlucks at work long back in India,a colleague of mine had got Saibhaji and i was literally licking my fingers.Now i got to know the recipe.Lovely click too.In the first click there is sumtng like a roasted eggplant…that attracted me too.Wat is it? Is that another sindhi delicacy:-P Let me know…..loved your spread!

Wow Alka thats a feast indeed I would love to have them and its nice to getta know about Sindhi food and they way its make the choice of ingredients and I admire the way you guys cook them!!! I couldnt just think of anything else now other than the food in the pic!!!

While everybody appreciated the recipe which it rightfully deserves, I was humbled listening to your favorite song (which is also one of my favorite songs {bhajan, prayer}… and thanks very much for the link). I am sure not many of your readers have commented on this due to their lack of understanding of the language. Just to summarize, it only means that no matter where we live or how much we have stashed in our bank accounts, it is all due to His little attention that He chose to bestow on us. So forget Him not and continue get His attention through your good deeds and actions. I know this is a food blog but felt it worth mentioning.

Yummy…it is raining now and your delightful repast is just what is needed to add to the elements. I am partial to a traditional South Indian lunch of onion sambar and alu roast and lemony tomato rasam et al. To round it off with some almond kheer and a good snooze on a lazy sunday would be the epitome of good living

Hi Alka, this is the first time I’m hearing about putting Bhindi and kachaloo in Sai Bhaji. I’ve always put carrot, brinjal and doodhi along with gavar, onion, potato and chana dal along with palak, khata, sua and Methi. Try it this way and let me know.
Cheers,
Asha

Alka, you have an amzing food site here. I didnt know so much about Sindhi food until I visited your site. Your recipes are great and the pics are beautiful too. Great job girl.
I will be trying your Bhindi Basar patata curry soon. Will let you know the outcome.

I love this saibhaji, especially when my mom used to make. We usually add only aalo n lauki to make it a mushy mix (ofcourse, with onion and ginger, garlic, green chillies, jeera and bengal gram). My mom’s combo with it wud be plain rice and aalu takk (flat aalu’s halved and then made like the brinjal u have presented here.) Thanx a lot for presenting it here so nicely n with so many veggies and for reminding me of my mum’s delectable food coz i never really found out neone or any presentation that wud be so simple and yet so delicious jus like my mom’s cuked fud.

I love saibhaji with onion pulav..am only half sindhi but have mostly been brought up with my maternal side relatives..and now after getting married to a punjabi have turned him also to like most sindhi food. Love your blogging keep posting 🙂

Grt. I cook sai bhaji but i never used any vegetables ,only used spinach and chana dal and lots of green coriander leaves . I think adding some vegetables will enhance more its taste. So thanx for sharing such a nice platter with us.

hey, thanx so much for the traditional authentic sindhi saibhaji-bhuge chawal recipe…pls keep posting more of authentic sindhi recipes as much as u can…we all love visting ur blog and learn so much from u !!!
thanx so much…. 🙂

I am not sure what is khatti palak, is it the same as jaambho in Sindhi? jhaambay jo tel is used in cooking by some and its also used as hair mask (jhambay jo tel tends to be kervo so many prefer to use tooriyay jo tel (mustard oil) for hair mask).

It is past 12 here.. lunch time.. & u see what u are doing to me here. that place has everything i love. That spinach is just too good! & the rice with caramelized onions.. yummm… now I will fill my appetite looking at the picture & then go eat “Now not so good Quesidillas”:-(